


Managing (Barely)

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Toriko (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Spoilers for the cooking festival arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-11-02 04:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20619158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: A look into the effects of Komatsu’s kidnapping on his partner





	Managing (Barely)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Nightmares](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166474) by [Semianonymity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semianonymity/pseuds/Semianonymity). 

> Guess who’s getting back into Toriko!

Komatsu had been missing for half a year, and sometimes it seemed the reality of it had yet to set in, despite it showing clearly in the new lines and weariness to the King’s faces. Yet the effects of his kidnapping were clear for all to see. The Kings were falling apart, and they hardly ever saw each other anymore without Komatsu’s radiant presence to soothe any tensions away. Zebra had been insufferable, even more so than usual, downright aggressive even to close friends. Komatsu’s absence was like a molten knife in his heart, slowly burning deeper and deeper as he chased any kind of distraction to put the chef out of his mind. Even so, he still caught himself straining his ears sometimes, searching for that familiar heartbeat and growling to himself when he inevitably came up empty. Coco had retreated into himself again, all semblance of a social life or extroversion falling apart without Komatsu’s gentle encouragement and fearless touch. Sani tried to pretend like he wasn’t affected, like he was completely fine with all of this, but everyone could tell he was hurting as much as the rest of them. 

And Toriko...

Toriko was coping. Mostly. In his own way. He barely ate. Barely slept. Barely changed clothes. All that mattered to him was finding his partner and bringing him home. His search was relentless and ferocious. He let nothing stand in his way, nor even slow him down. When one lead went cold, he leapt to the next one in the blink of an eye. Never stopping. Never slowing. The knowledge that Komatsu was out there somewhere; alone, defenseless, probably terrified, possibly being mistreated, possibly  _ crying _ , driving him onward like no food ever could.

His sleep, when he got any, was plagued with nightmares, the most prominent being the memory of Komatsu’s cries from that day. Those familiar, beloved tears falling onto Toriko’s face as he lay there, helpless, as Komatsu was struck and carried away. In these dreams, he was always held down by some force, unable to move or cry out or do anything but watch his partner sobbing his name as a massive shadow approached behind him.

“T-Toriko-san.” he would sniffle as the darkness began to overtake him, “Why...? Why couldn’t you... s-stop him? You p-promised. You promised you’d protect me, you... you promised...” and Toriko would scream inside his own head, straining against the invisible bonds as Komatsu vanished into darkness, into obscurity, those dark eyes never once leaving Toriko’s, those weak sobs echoing in his ears.

Then he would wake up, throat raw in a way that suggested the screaming hadn’t been entirely internal. He would shake the dream away and stand up. He would eat whatever he could find just for the energy it provided, ignoring the way it tasted like ash in his mouth, and resume his searching. Every moment wasted sleeping was a moment Komatsu could be harmed. Every second wasted doing anything besides  _ searching _ was a second Komatsu could be crying. The shame was like a second skin to him by now, able to be shoved away until he was alone. There had been several nights where all he could do was stare up at the stars, unable to muster the energy to care for himself. Why should he? Why would he deserve anything at all after failing his partner so completely?

But those moments never lasted longer than a night. Not since Jirou-san had talked sense into him all those months ago. He couldn’t afford to wallow in misery anymore. He would find Komatsu, and he would bring him home. He wouldn’t stop until his partner was safe and protected in his arms again. Until he saw that smile again, heard his name from those lips, felt those small arms trying valiantly to wrap around him entirely, he wouldn’t rest.

Komatsu would be safe and at his side again. Nothing else mattered, _ no one _ else mattered.

And once he had him back, Toriko would die before  _ anything _ took him away again.


End file.
